PA MediaSimo Valakari was thrilled to give St Johnstone supporters a 2-1 victory over Dundee to celebrate after recent Perth struggles against their Tayside rivals.
Dundee won twice at McDiarmid Park in 2024-25, the season Saints were relegated, but a team transformed has returned to the top-flight under Valakari.
They drew level on 17 points with Dundee in the William Hill Premiership thanks to a fourth win of the season.
Valakari lapped up the success with fans joyous at a first home victory over the Dark Blues since October 2021.
“We are a totally new team and it is not good to hold on to all those memories,” said Valakari.
“Me as a manager, of course I remember.
“At Christmas-time we were 3-0 down after 20 minutes of the biggest game of the season.
“And of course I remember when their fans were on the pitch celebrating on the last day.
“But my players don’t have this baggage.
“We are creating new experiences together; this is our new adventure.
“If I carried everything that happened in the past with me, I would be a very bitter person!
“You need to let things go; that’s why we didn’t even bring it up.
“But all the players knew how much this game meant to our fans.
“We needed to perform – and we did.
“And to perform the way we did against a very good team made it a deserved win.”
Josh Campbell headed Saints in front after five minutes.
Substitute Joe Westley replied early in the second half following a mix-up between keeper Ross Sinclair and Cheick Diabate.
Kai Fotheringham, on his first Premiership start for Saints, netted a deflected winner on 72 minutes.
“We were very good in the first half,” said Valakari.
“They changed things at half-time. It took us a bit of time to adjust and we conceded a goal in that period.
“My team showed their character and personality again. We got control back and it got better and better from that.”
Dundee manager Steven Pressley conceded that his team failed to match much of their early-season form.
“Over the course of the 90 minutes, St Johnstone were probably deserving of the victory,” he said.
“We didn’t quite reach the heights and the standards that we’ve set.
“It’s not a criticism, it’s just these players continuously produced really high performances and have set some incredible standards.
“We were just a little bit below them on some of the things that we pride ourselves on.
“And, on the things we pride ourselves on, I thought St Johnstone were very strong.
“We’re disappointed to go into an international break on a defeat.”
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